Bruce's Bad Day
by Les1
Summary: Johnny takes care of a baby and of Bruce as well.


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of The Dead Zone. I am making no money off of this, so please don't sue. Author's note: This was written as part of the weekly fic challenge over on USA's Dead Zone bboard. The challenge was to write a fic where Johnny takes care of a baby and it was to include: the baby's meal time, the baby's nap time, a car, a book, and an iguana. *****************  
  
Bruce paced back and forth impatiently, looking at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. His day had started out bad and only gotten worse from there. All he had wanted to do after work was go home and forget about the day, but it seemed that the fates were still conspiring against him. His PT Cruiser wouldn't start. He had called Johnny for a ride, but now apparently, Johnny was running late. Just as he was about to take out his cell phone to call, Bruce spotted a familiar jeep pulling into the parking lot. After the vehicle had stopped in front of him, Bruce warily climbed in, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back against the seat.  
  
"Hey, man, sorry I'm late. Something unexpected came up." Johnny then glanced over at his friend. "Are you okay, Bruce? You look beat."  
  
"I'm all right. Today just hasn't been the best of days, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I..." Johnny was about to say more, but only grinned instead as he saw the double take that Bruce made as he finally noticed what was in the back seat.  
  
"What the...? I think I must be even more tired than I thought. That looks like a baby in your back seat."  
  
Laughing, Johnny replied, "Well, there's a good reason for that. It looks like a baby because it is. Mrs. Cooper from across the street asked me if I could baby-sit her son Robby while she and Mr. Cooper went out for their anniversary."  
  
Bruce didn't respond, only yawned and closed his eyes again. Johnny saw how worn out and run down the other man was. He had only been planning to go home, fix dinner, and take care of the baby. He figured that he could make dinner for two as well as just for himself, so he invited Bruce to join him.  
  
At first, Bruce thought he would decline the offer, but then he changed his mind. He really was hungry, but he knew that if he went home, he would probably end up going to bed without eating. He was exhausted and didn't feel like fixing anything for himself. "Sure. Sounds good."  
  
The rest of the trip to Johnny's house was made in silence. Bruce had dozed off, so Johnny reached over and gently shook his shoulder. "Bruce. We're here."  
  
"Um, yeah. Right." Bruce got out of the jeep, shaking off the last of his grogginess as Johnny went around and took the baby out of the car seat.  
  
"Come on little guy, it's time for your dinner and a nap." Just then, Bruce yawned again. Johnny turned to him. "Come on in. I'll make some dinner and then you can take a nap too."  
  
"Funny, man, very funny."  
  
"I thought it was," Johnny said with a chuckle, as Bruce only rolled his eyes, still not entirely awake.  
  
They went inside the house and into the kitchen. There was a bag sitting on the counter and Johnny picked it up and took out a bottle and a can of formula. As it started to heat up, he tried to figure out what to make for dinner. He knew that Bruce really liked his spaghetti, so he got out the ingredients to fix it. When the formula was ready, Johnny put it in the bottle and was going to feed the baby, but Bruce took it from him.  
  
Johnny watched, a bit surprised, as Bruce gently and assuredly picked Robby up. Until Mr. and Mrs. Cooper had recently moved in across the street, Johnny had never taken care of children. He assumed that Bruce, a fellow bachelor, would have no more experience than he did. "You look like you really know what you're doing there. You have some kids you never told me about?"  
  
Bruce smiled at that as he explained. "Nah, nothing like that. I used to help out my Aunt Susan with my cousins. They were quite a bit younger than me and Susan was a single mom, so I took care of them a lot."  
  
While Johnny cooked and Bruce fed Robby his bottle, the two of them talked. Bruce told Johnny about his day and how it had gone. It had started out inauspiciously when, after a long night with little sleep, Bruce had gotten up late when his alarm had failed to go off. Then, of course, he had gotten to work late. After he got there he realized that he had forgotten the lunch he had packed. Then that afternoon, he had had to take on a few extra patients for the day when one of the other physical therapists went home sick. Normally Bruce, who loved his job and dealing with people, wouldn't have minded, but his last patient of the day had been a recalcitrant teenager who didn't want to do her therapy and was very vocal about the fact. The last straw had been when his car wouldn't start.  
  
Johnny didn't say anything, just listened as Bruce talked. He knew that it could help to talk. Finally the dinner preparations were ready and Johnny served them both a big helping of the spaghetti. "Well, this should help. Eat up."  
  
Bruce inhaled as Johnny placed the plate in front of him. "Thanks. It smells great. I haven't had a chance to eat since breakfast this morning."  
  
Johnny took Robby and put him in his bassinet nearby so that they could keep on eye on him while they ate. Johnny noticed Bruce's mood seemed to improve and the two made casual small talk as they ate. After a while, though, the conversation died out and the two finished their meal in companionable silence.  
  
Johnny started to clear the dishes from the table and when he turned back around, he noticed that Bruce was watching the baby, who was still in his bassinet, playing with a dishtowel that he gotten hold of when Johnny accidentally dropped it. He smiled as he watched Robby throw the towel onto the floor, giggling as if it was the funniest thing ever to happen. Then Robby reached out toward Bruce, wanting to be picked up and giggled again as he complied. Bruce talked to Robby as he held him. "Must be nice, being a baby, huh? You get taken care of. You don't have to worry about having a bad day or your car not starting. You get everything taken care of for you, including having your clothes changed. I think he needs a new diaper. And since you're the baby sitter, you get to do the changing."  
  
"Gee, thanks." Johnny chuckled as he took the baby. "He needs a bath anyway. I'll be back in a bit."  
  
"Sure. I can get the dishes done while you do that."  
  
Bruce went to work and a while later Johnny came back into the kitchen, still holding Robby. He saw that Bruce was at the sink, looking as though he was about to fall asleep while standing up. The image was only enhanced when Bruce yawned and almost dropped the plate he was holding. Rescuing the plate from a sure demise, Johnny gently but firmly pushed his friend toward the living room. "Sit down before you fall down. I can finish up here."  
  
"Are you sure? You fixed dinner. The least I can do is help you clean up."  
  
"No, it's fine. Go and take him with you," Johnny said, handing over Robby.  
  
Without further argument, Bruce did as he was told. After he finished washing the dishes, Johnny went out to the living room. The sight that greeted him when he got there stopped him dead in his tracks. Bruce and Robby were on the couch, both sound asleep. Robby was snuggled up next to Bruce, who had his arm around the baby protectively to keep him from falling off the couch. In his lap was a picture book about iguanas that was Robby's favorite. Johnny had read it to him when he had taken care of him in the past and had been planning to read it to him again tonight before his bedtime. Now it looked like that wouldn't be necessary. He took the book from Bruce, being careful not to wake him, and laid it on the coffee table. Then he took the afghan that was hanging on the back of the couch and placed it over the two. He stood watching them for a few moments and then he went upstairs to let his friend rest in peace, knowing that tomorrow would be a better day for Bruce. 


End file.
